Records: Child died after judge blocked DCF custody bid

Redacted police reports describe a case where the state Department for Children and Families sought to take custody of a child, but a judge said no. The child died eight weeks later.(Photo: EMILY McMANAMY/FREE PRESS)Buy Photo

A baby dies under questionable circumstances — in this case, in Burlington on Sept. 5, 2013.

The death certificate issued by the medical examiner determines the death was unnatural. Police reports indicate the mother had something to do with the child's dying.

Records indicate the Department for Children and Families had previous involvement with the family, but the mother was allowed to keep custody of the infant.

That description neatly fits what happened to Dezirae Sheldon of Poultney and Peighton Geraw of Winooski, two toddlers whose deaths this year triggered sharp criticism of the department responsible for child protection in Vermont.

Except for one thing: In this newest case, the department tried to gain custody of the child eight weeks before the baby's death. But DCF was thwarted when a judge — behind closed doors — gave the mother "conditional custody" of the boy.

The Burlington case, the subject of a Burlington Free Press investigation, challenges the assumption that the Department for Children and Families automatically favors family reunification and has carte blanche powers to protect children from harm.

David Yacovone, the department commissioner, said in an interview Monday he was unaware of the case until informed about it by a reporter. He then declined to discuss the case, citing confidentiality rules.

"I can say the process is not a one of rubber stamp," Yacovone said. "Most of the time I feel we have a strong case, but that does not mean the judge will concur with us."

In Dezirae's and Peighton's cases, the department temporarily removed the children from their mothers' care, then agreed to allow the mothers to regain conditional custody of the toddlers.

Both youngsters later died from physical injuries, and murder charges have been filed against their alleged attackers.

The two deaths have spawned multiple investigations, plus a set of nine legislative hearings across Vermont focused on child protective services. The last three of the hearings will take place Tuesday in St. Johnsbury, Morrisville and Montpelier.

New case

In this newest case, the judge sided with the mother and against DCF despite evidence the mother was abusing drugs when her son was born July 9, 2013, records show.

"The Department for Children and Families advised they had also received information in which (the mother) was using drugs while caring for (the baby)," a redacted police report stated. The report was among nearly 30 pages of documents turned over to the Burlington Free Press following public-records requests.

"The Department for Children and Families attempted to gain custody of (the baby), based on this information, however, (the mother) was granted conditional custody through Superior Court."

The names of the mother, 27, and the baby were blacked out in the police reports before the authorities turned the paperwork over to the Free Press. Other documents, such as the death certificate, contain the names, but the Free Press is withholding the identities because no criminal charges were brought in the case. Contact information for the mother could not be found.

The identity of the judge who ruled for the mother and against the department is unknown, because the custodial issue was aired at a closed Family Court hearing in Burlington.

Judge Linda Levitt was the presiding Family Court judge in Burlington at the time but said a description of the case provided by a reporter did not "ring a bell." All court records surrounding the case, including the name of the judge, are secret.

"I don't remember it," she said in an interview Monday. "It's surprising that conditional custody was given to the mother. ... We practically always agree with DCF. We're not there, and DCF is sort of the court's eyes and ears" in such cases.

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Redacted police reports describe a case where the state Department for Children and Families sought to take custody of a child, but a judge said no. The child died eight weeks later.(Photo: EMILY McMANAMY/FREE PRESS)

Police reports obtained by the Free Press indicate the mother's custody rights for another child were terminated in 2010 after a department investigator alleged the mother was living with a convicted sex offender and lacked stable housing or income.

"The report also mentioned mental health and substance abuse concerns," Detective Morgan Lawton of the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations wrote in a summary of the 2010 incident.

The mother became pregnant again in 2012, and in May 2013, she moved into the Women Helping Battered Women shelter in Burlington, police reports stated.

The mother was homeless at the time and had obtained a temporary relief-from-abuse order against the father.

Addicted at birth

After the boy was born, doctors at Fletcher Allen Health Care determined he was addicted to opiates.

Attending physician Mariah McNamara told police after the boy's death that the infant "was receiving treatment for opiate addiction" and "had been treated for withdrawal symptoms for a period of time after his birth," the police reports stated.

It was unclear whether the mother's substance abuse continued after she returned to the battered women's shelter after the baby's birth.

O. Whitman Smith, the shelter's attorney, told the Free Press the organization prohibits clients from using illegal substances while living at the shelter.

A staff member told police after the child's death that the shelter "does not provide assistance with addiction, and residents take care of medical issues on their own," the police report stated.

The shelter worker also told police the mother had "worked very hard to be a good mother." The staff member's name was redacted from police reports the the Free Press obtained.

On the night the baby died, the mother and child went to sleep in the same bed at about 1:30 a.m. She told police she awoke about an hour later and put her son into a small bed that was attached to her bed, a police report stated.

"In the morning, she reached out to check on (the baby)," the report continued. "She felt he was cold and she saw he was out of his blanket ... and realized he was not moving." The child's fist was clenched, and there was blood on his cheek.

The mother called 911 and tried to administer CPR. The baby was rushed by ambulance to the hospital, where he was declared dead.

The cause of death for the child is unknown. According to a death certificate on file at City Hall in Burlington, the cause of death was listed as "undetermined," and the manner of death was described as "could not be determined."

Under the category of other contributing conditions, the state Medical Examiner's Office wrote "bed-sharing with adult."

Chief Medical Examiner Steven Shapiro said Monday that state laws prevent him from releasing his office's complete report on the baby's death.

Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan said his office tried to conduct an inquest into the baby's death but abandoned the idea after Smith, the shelter's lawyer, persuaded a judge to quash subpoenas seeking access to shelter records and the names of employees and residents.

"We tried to do a thorough investigation," Donovan said.

Smith said the laws protecting the confidentiality of a battered women's shelter are particularly strong because they are designed to protect the safety of the clients and their children.

Contact Sam Hemingway at 660-1850 or shemingway@freepressmedia.com. Follow Sam on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SamuelHemingway.